Portland School Board brings in consultant for superintendent search

The Portland School Board has voted to hire PROACT Search, of Willmette, Ill., to help in the ongoing search for a superintendent to replace James Morse, who is retiring after three years on the job at the end of June.

To help find the next top administrator for the district, PROACT (it’s not an acronym, but the official title appears to be in all caps) will be paid $24,750. The firm was picked from a field of five consultants — a group that was whittled to two by the board’s superintendent search subcommittee before the full board took the final vote, according to a Portland Public Schools announcement today.

As part of the winnowing process, the subcommittee checked in with past PROACT client districts, including Cleveland, Boston and Charlotte, along with five others.

Sarah Thompson

Here’s what subcommittee chairwoman Sarah Thompson said about the panel’s research, in a statement released by the district today:

We heard rave reviews about PROACT’s attention to the eight districts’ needs and the firm’s ability to recruit top-notch candidates.

In the coming weeks, PROACT will hold events in the city to “engage community membes in the process,” the district announcement states, as well as take care of much of the advertisement, candidate attraction and credential checking work.

The firm claims its average search brings in about 93 candidates, so Portland school officials should have plenty of choices for their next top administrator.